wiki

(pronounced: wick-ee)

The ability to work collaboratively on a document, where everyone may add or edit text. A "wiki" is a type of Web site or tool for doing jointly authored writing using the Internet. The idea is that this kind of "open editing" allows for easy interaction between users and/or groups and is effective in collaborative authoring.

In the industry, "wiki" is said to be "the simplest online database that could possibly work." It is a server software and its main advantages are ease-of-use, global access, and low cost. Like blogging, it allows anyone the ability to publish their writing directly on the Web, however, this kind of free expression comes with a caveat: DBEYR.

The term wiki originates from the Hawaiian word for "fast" or "quick" and was coined in 1995 by Ward Cunningham. In March 2007, the word wiki became a newly recognized English word.

Historical perspective: In 2007, here were the Top 10 Wikis:

1. DokuWiki
2. TWiki
3. MediaWiki
4. PhpWiki
5. bitweaver
6. ErfurtWiki
7. PmWiki
8. MoinMoin
9. DekiWiki
10. TikiWiki